January 3, 2013
For Immediate Release  

Governor Walker Enters Third Year in Office

Madison—Today marks the beginning of Governor Walker’s third year in office.  Governor Walker released the following statement to take a look back at his first two years in office: 

Two years ago, Wisconsin was facing a $3.6 billion budget deficit and the state had an unemployment rate of 7.5 percent. Today, Wisconsin has a $341 million surplus and we set money aside in the rainy day fund for the first time in two consecutive years.  The unemployment rate is 6.7 percent.

In 2010, a mere 10 percent of employers surveyed said the state was headed in the right direction. Chief Executive Magazine ranked Wisconsin as the 41st state for business ranking.

In 2012, 94 percent said Wisconsin was headed in the right direction.  Chief Executive Magazine moved our ranking up to 20th, while CNBC listed us at 17th and Site Selection Magazine as 13th.

New business formations are up 11.1 percent from this time two years ago.

In the second half of my term, I look forward to working with the people of Wisconsin, from workers to educators and job creators to legislators, to continue moving our state forward.

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